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Several Russian media outlets have reported that Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, that currently form the Eurasian customs union, will sign an agreement in May to accelerate the formation of an economic union and a joint currency: Altyn.

On the territory of several Russian principalities the currency Altyn has been circulating from the 15th century until 1991. Originally it was made of copper, the silver Altyn appeared during the times of Peter the Great.

I added English subtitles to the video below, press the ‘captions button’ to activate.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4b7aIur5ic]

Transcript of the video:

ALTYN BECOMES THE NEW CURRENCY FOR CUSTOMS UNION

NEW EURASIA CURRENCY MAY APPEAR IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS

A new currency for the Eurasian Economic Union, “Altyn” may enter into circulation within the next five years.In May, the Presidents of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus will sign an agreement on the establishment by 2015 of the Eurasian Economic Union. This unique partnership and single economic space will be a response to the European Union. It is not excluded [It is possible] that this may eventually develop into a military- political alliance which is able to compete with NATO and China. The original idea for creation of a single currency belonged to President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. In 2012, it was supported by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. It was originally planned to create a currency in 2025, but the introduction of serious economic sanctions against Russia may begin to accelerate plans for this new currency market.

Other media outlets that reported this news were Pravda.ru and Moskovsky Komsomolets. From these leads I did some searching on official sources on the development of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and Altyn. What I found was that the EEU is in an advanced stage, on Altyn I couldn’t find much so I’m not convinced this currency will be introduced within 5 years. Presumably only an “oral agreement” between the states has been made on the joint currency.

The Eurasian Customs Union was launched as a first step towards forming a broader European Union-type economic alliance of former Soviet states. The member states are planning to continue with economic integration and were set to remove all customs borders between each other after July 2011. On 19 November 2011, the member states put together a joint commission on fostering closer economic ties, planning to create a Eurasian Union by 2015. Since 1 January 2012, the three states are a Single Economic Space (SES) to promote further economic integration. The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) is the regulatory agency for the Customs Union.

United States foreign policy opposes the Customs Union, claiming it as an attempt to “re-establish a Russian-dominated USSR-type union amongst the Post-Soviet states”

Documents from the Eurasian Economic Committee confirm the formation of the Eurasian Economic Union. Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Tajikistan may join the new financial and economic organisation. Currently the three member states are at stage III of their integration process, they aim to reach stage IV by the end of 2015. Especially Putin is keen on closing a deal to move away from the petrodollar in conjunction with allies in central Asia.

Development Stages Eurasian Economic Union

As was being said in the video above the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev was the first to come out with the idea to form a joint currency. According to Pravda.ru Nazarbayev is of the opinion the US dollar is an illegal and non-competitive means of payment “the world currency was not de jure legitimate because it was never adopted by any communities or organizations. There is no such international law,… the world currency market is not a civilized market, as the system of world currency issuance is not being controlled.” He said. Nazarbayev believes the world is heading towards a new monetary system; from “defective capitalism” to “the new capitalism that would be based on a non-defective currency – self-growing global wealth.”

Fun Facts About The Eurasian Economic Union

Russia’s economy is eight times smaller than that of the US, but by forming a new ’empire’ on top of a vast amounts of resources this economic block will be a serious threat for the US petrodollar. Russia is now speaking openly about getting rid of the US dollar for trading energy, it’s building its own payment system and closing gas export deals with China – the other Asian empire. The Eurasian Economic Union will be a powerful stab at the US dollar hegemony.